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4 October 2014

These two beers may have been on the Foodstufffinds' Shelf of Nervous Apprehension for quite a while, mainly because they sound so weird! Although Bateman's have been craft brewers since 1874, and I've never disliked one of their beers yet. So I ought to have known better really...?

Mocha Beer

First up was Mocha Beer. Using coffee and / or chocolate in beer shouldn't sound so alien to me now, as I've been drinking some crazy sounding beers since Cinabar roped me into writing on this blog. Calling a beer Mocha, which is essentially Arabica coffee beans and Belgian chocolate infused and blended with Bateman's local malts, shouldn't sound so weird in my head. Mocha in any coffee house is coffee and chocolate of course, so this beer is coffee and chocolate and beer! What's weird about that? On pouring this Mocha Beer I noted the black colour and strong dark chocolate smell with a tickle of coffee at the end of the odour. On tasting I immediately revelled in this beer's creaminess mixed with a luxurious dark chocolate flavour. The bitter punch came from the coffee at the end of the flavour taking the tastebuds from a creamy chocolatey experience into a richly deserved coffee bitter bite to finish with. No wonder this beer won silver at Sainsbury's Great World Beer Hunt Awards. I absolutely loved it!

Information on the label;
330ml bottle at 6% volume. Contains oats and barley.

Mocha Amaretto Beer

This is the beer that concerned me the most. It stated on the label that this beer had the "perfect blend of coffee, almond and chocolate with the sweetness of Biscotti". There was quite a strong marzipan smell on opening the bottle. I hate almond and I hate marzipan. No, really hate them both! Many a good iced cake has been ruined in my opinion by the use of too much marzipan. If you like marzipan, coffee, chocolate and beer then this beer is for you. There was a thick marzipan taste to begin with which seemed to intensify mid taste drowning out the chocolate and finishing on a bitterness of coffee. Coffee and marzipan seemed to fight it out slightly in the aftertaste, but the malty beer flavour from the Mocha Beer was unfortunately lost to me. This beer would be perfect for a lover of iced cakes to wash down their desert, but unfortunately way not for me.

Information on the label;
330ml bottle at 6.5% volume. Contains oats and barley.